Will Hermes

Ibibio Sound Machine is an Anglo-African band from London, and they've teamed up with Hot Chip to create the album Electricity. Together, they balance African funk with British electronica.

Four female country stars — Brandi Carlile, Maren Morris, Amanda Shires and Natalie Hemby — are hitting the road as The Highwomen, a reinterpretation of the '80s supergroup The Highwaymen.

Sleater-Kinney's longtime drummer is leaving the band — but not before they release one last album together. It marks the end of an era for the indie rock power trio.

Neneh Cherry started her music a career in a punk rock band, then she started rapping. Her new album, Broken Politics is a philosophical meditation on staying strong in trying times.

British soul singer Sam Smith's debut LP, In The Lonely Hour, showcased his remarkable voice. It was one of the best-selling records of 2014, won four Grammys, and drew comparisons to Adele. His second collection is titled The Thrill Of It All. Music critic Will Hermes says each track on the record is elevated by Smith's voice into something magnificent, that feels vintage, and at the same time, brand new.

The 23-year-old country-rock singer's fine new album thrives on her iconoclastic vision. Along the way, the invokes the name and spirit of everyone from Steve Earle to French poet Paul Verlaine.

As the androgynous vocal half of Rhye, Michael Milosh keeps himself enshrouded in mystery. But his new solo album is more revealing, forthcoming, sexy and domestic.

Even the compilers of a new funk collection don't fully know who William Onyeabor is.

The duo, which sounds like Tom Petty after some Red Bull-and-vodkas, hones the scream to an art.

Van Etten's new album, Tramp, is titled after the touring artist's time of essential homelessness. It's full of unresolved restlessness, infinite-loop longing and expansive vocals.